Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
by itinerarymango
Summary: Sandy invites one of Ryan's professors, who happens to be his friend, to dinner. Ryan is shocked.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ryan lay on the floor with his hands stretched above his head. In his hands, he held Sophie who was giggling wildly at her brothers antics. The doorbell rang and Sandy called down the hall "Ryan can you get that."

Ryan groaned outwardly, but placed Sophie on his hip and walked to the door. He threw the door open with annoyance present on his face, as he assumed it was Seth, too lazy to use his key. When he the door opened, the annoyance melted from his face and was replaced by utter shock. "Pr…Pr…Professor Lawson?" he bumbled.

"Ryan?" the equally confused professor questioned back "I'm sorry I must be at the wrong house, I'm looking for Sandy Cohen."

It suddenly dawned on Ryan; Sandy must have invited his professor over. He thought that Sandy had said that they had become quite good friends. "No" he replied "you're at the right house, Sandy Cohen is my dad."

The Professor Lawson looked bemused as he fit the pieces together in his head. About that time Sandy decided to make his entrance. He stopped short when he noticed the shocked looks on their faces. Hesitantly he moved forward to grasp the Professor's hand, saying "Ed, glad you could make it."

Snapped out of his thoughts by Sandy, he replied "Sandy, good to see you, so this is the Ryan you are always speaking of so proudly, I guess I should have realized he sat in my class every Tuesday and Thursday."

"Oh," Sandy stated flatly "I thought you knew."

"No, I didn't realize that Sandy Cohen and Ryan Atwood-Cohen had any connection" he replied. "So Ryan, is this your child, I didn't know you had a daughter."

"I don't" Ryan mumbled "She's my sister." Ryan could already tell this was going to be a long night.

He trudged behind Sandy and Professor Lawson to the living room. Sandy chattered excitedly about Sophie as they went. Another knock at the door was a welcome relief for Ryan as he hastened from the room. Throwing the door open he scrunched his face into a look of annoyance. "Seriously Seth, you have a key" he just about screamed.

"Yes, but I have already placed that key in my pocket and retrieving said key from my pocket would be counter-productive," Seth quipped.

Seth led the way to the living room, listening to Ryan muttering in his wake. "Father, I see we have guests," Seth said upon stepping into the living room.

Sandy introduced him to Professor Lawson and Seth bobbed his head in an understanding manner before glancing over at Ryan. "So, dad is friends with your Psych professor, and has invited him to dinner," he whispered to Ryan.

Ryan groaned and mumbled something that sounded something like a string of obscenities causing Seth to burst out in a laughing fit. "Boys, is something wrong?" Sandy questioned.

"We're going to go see if mom needs help," Ryan replied, hastily grabbing Seth's arm and pulling him to the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So, they are twins," asked Lawson nonchalantly, but with an obvious air of confusion.

Sandy told him Ryan's story, leaving out some of the fist fights and of course the cage fighting.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Seth had arrived in the kitchen. "Seriously dude, you were kind of starting to hurt my arm," Seth whined rubbing the spot Ryan had just released.

"Ugh, shut-up do you realize what is going on here," Ryan said "every professor is now going to know that I am the great Sanford Cohen's kid, I am totally going to have to transfer schools."

"Wait, why?" Seth said bemused "I see this as an opportunity; you get good grades because dad is your professor's good buddy."

"So not an opportunity, they will want to talk to me and then all my friends will figure it out and all of a sudden I am not Ryan, I am Professor Cohen's kid, the go to guy to talk to the Professor about grades and crap."

"Oh" Seth replied dully "I can see your point."

"Help me!" Ryan pleaded.

Kirsten walked in and said "help you what."

Ryan turned not expecting the voice that sounded behind him. "Did you know dad invited my Psych professor to dinner?"

"I knew he invited Ed Lawson to dinner, so, he is your professor?" she replied as she busied herself around the kitchen.

"I guess I better put in for my transcripts after break" he groaned.

Later they were all sitting around the dinner table, eating. Lawson spoke to Seth "so where do you go to school?"

"RISD" he said.

"Oh, what are you studying?" Lawson further explored.

"Graphic design and comic book production," he answered.

"Oh, so you and Ryan are on opposite sides of the spectrum educationally speaking" Lawson stated matter of factually.

Ryan and Seth both glanced at the professor confused. "Oh, I guess I should explain what I mean," he started seeing their confusion "Ryan is as I have heard leaning toward the math and science side and you are more into the liberal arts."

Seeing that Ryan grew uncomfortable with the discussion of school, Sandy decided to change the subject "have you been surfing lately?"

"No, I haven't been able to get to the beach lately, what about you?" Lawson took the hint and stated.

"Well, Ryan and I went up there yesterday, but there was nothing to surf on" Sandy answered.

"Ryan, you surf?" Lawson questioned.

Seth choked on the food in his mouth as he began to laugh. "No" Ryan replied quietly, "I go and run on the beach, I hate surfing."

The dinner continued without any major episodes, Ryan was only embarrassed by Sandy's stories a couple of times. After Professor Lawson finally left Ryan turned to face Sandy. "Dad, did you really think that was a good idea" he whined.

Sandy looked at his blonde haired son "what was the problem?" he questioned bemused by his son's reaction.

Ryan just turned and walked to his room dreading his return to school on Tuesday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ryan walked into Professor Lawson's lecture hall and slumped into his seat, trying to remain invisible.

"Dude, what is up with you?" his friend Chad asked.

"Don't want to talk about it," Ryan hissed back.

He felt an arm slip around his waist and immediately looked over at Marissa sitting beside him. She looked at him with a questioning look on her face.

"Dad decided to spill the beans" he said unenthusiastically. She knew exactly what he was trying to explain, Ryan had been expressing his fear that the college would figure out his secret since Sandy started teaching there. She removed her hand from around his waist and grabbed his hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

Shortly, Professor Lawson began his lecture on split personality syndrome and Ryan was able to concentrate on something besides his worries. At the end of class Ryan's worst nightmare came true. "Ryan, you should ask your dad about the insanity defense when it pertains to multiple personality disorder."

"Shit, shit, shit, shit…" Ryan mumbled over and over.

Chad looked at him, confusion showing in his eyes "dude, Lawson knows your dad?"

Ryan nodded sheepishly and Marissa once again squeezed his hand.

"How?" Chad questioned.

"My dad is Professor Sanford Cohen" Ryan replied feeling relief that he was no longer hiding his secret, but still upset none the less.

A murmur picked up as those who listened to the exchange began to spread the information, Ryan just slumped deeper into his seat.

He couldn't wait to get out of the room, the stares were suffocating him. He ran as soon as Professor Lawson dismissed them only slowing when he heard Marissa calling him.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," she replied.

"Yeah, you not that bad," he stated sarcastically.

He headed to Sandy's office, Marissa hand in his winding through the students scattered about the campus. As he arrived at the hall where Sandy's office was he realized that several professors were starring at him, he thought to himself, _do they all know_.

He plopped down into one of the chairs across from Sandy's desk and Marissa sat in the other. Sandy hearing the sigh that escaped as he did so looked up.

"Ryan?" he said "you never visit me at school."

"Well it doesn't really matter now does it" he chided "everybody knows you're my dad now."

Realization dawned on Sandy's face. "You didn't want anyone to know?" he questioned.

"You are kind of a lot to live up to," he mumbled sheepishly.

"So that is why you were so upset that Ed was at dinner the other night" Sandy replied.

"Well it doesn't matter now, he just called me out in front of the class, and evidently he spread the word around among the professors," he shot back, a little harsher than he mean to.

Sandy let out a slight chuckle. His kid had no idea what those professors were saying about him today.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Kid" he began "do you know what kind of comments I have been getting all day?"

Ryan shook his head.

"Well, professors have been popping in telling me that you were one of the best students they've had, and telling me I should be proud of you."

Ryan felt his cheeks grow hot, a sure sign that he was blushing.

"You are more than living up to me, you are surpassing me" he beamed.

Ryan sat up a little straighter hearing Sandy's praise. Sandy smiled at the slight movement remembering when his and Kirsten's praise made him uncomfortable. Ryan stood up, pulling Marissa with him.

"Well we need to go get lunch before our next class" Ryan stated grabbing his bag off the floor.

Sandy nodded looking back at the papers he was reading. Ryan and Marissa walked toward the door Marissa exiting first. Ryan turned before stepping out "Dad?" he stated quietly.

"Mhmm?" Sandy replied, gazing up from the papers.

"Thanks," Ryan said, ducking out the door before Sandy could say another word.

Before long, Ryan and Marissa sat under a tree eating burgers that they bought from a diner just a walk away from campus. Chad walked up throwing him self on the ground beside them and was followed promptly by Jack and Samantha, munching on their own lunch.

"Dude," Chad stated "you should have told us Professor Cohen was your dad; we wouldn't have treated you any differently."

Jack and Samantha nodded in agreement.

"I think I was more worried about how professors would look at me if they knew, but I don't care any more," Ryan replied.

Marissa who had finished her burger leaned against his side pulling his arm around her shoulders. "I am just glad I am not keeping that secret anymore, it was horrible" she stated bluntly.

Ryan laughed, planting a kiss to her lips and then jumping in the conversation Jack, Samantha, and Chad were engaged in. _I shouldn't have worried_, he thought to himself.


End file.
